'Stay at home' replaces self-isolation for coronavirus in Scotland

Public health advice is changing today to a "stay at home" message replacing self-isolation for people who have symptoms or have tested positive for coronavirus in Scotland.

People who have Covid-19 symptoms and who have a fever or are too unwell to carry out normal activities will be asked to "stay at home" while they are unwell or have a fever, with a PCR test no longer advised.

The changes, part of the Test and Protect Transition Plan which was published last month, means all contact tracing has ended.

As previously announced, testing for the general population ended yesterday with test sites closing at that point as well.

But testing will remain available to certain groups in order to protect high risk settings, support clinical care and for surveillance purposes.

The eligible groups include health and social care workers, care home and hospital visitors, patients groups eligible for treatment, hospital patients, unpaid carers and people in prison.

Other adults who have symptoms of the virus and other respiratory illnesses and have a high temperature or do not feel well enough to go to work or carry out normal activities, are advised to stay at home until their fever has gone or they feel well enough.

Children and young people aged 18 and under with mild symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough, who are otherwise well, don't need to stay at home and can continue to attend education settings.

They should only remain at home if they are unwell and have a high temperature.

They can go return to school, college or childcare, and resume normal activities when they no longer have a fever and they feel well enough to attend.

This guidance reflects the fact that children and young people generally have a higher likelihood than adults of regular instances of respiratory symptoms from non-coronavirus illnesses. 

The Protect Scotland app is also being shut down, but users are encouraged to keep the app on their phones in case it is needed again at a future date.

NHS Scotland was taken off an emergency footing at the end of yesterday as coronavirus cases continued to decrease.

But with continued demands on services across health and social care, there remains a need for caution to protect vital services.

Patients should only attend A&E if their condition is an emergency, to continue to minimise the pressure on services., but the GP can be contacted during the day, local pharmacy or call NHS 24 on 111 as an alternative.

Humza Yousaf MSP, the Health Secretary, said: "Scotland’s Test and Protect programme has been one of the key interventions in our response to Covid-19, the success of which has been due, in no small part, to the remarkable staff and volunteers working in Test and Protect - my sincere thanks go to them.

"I would also like to thank the Scottish public for their commitment and willingness to engage with Test and Protect when it was required of them and helping to protect their fellow citizens.

"However, we recognise we are now in a different phase of the pandemic.

"The primary purpose of testing is changing from population-wide testing to reduce transmission, to a targeted response focused on reducing severe harm of the virus.

"As we are now seeing a steady reduction in new coronavirus cases, the NHS will no longer remain on emergency footing after Saturday 30 April.

"But we must continue with a measured approach to support the recovery and renewal of our NHS.

"This will require balancing capacity of the NHS and the wellbeing of the workforce to respond to increasing demands for urgent care while reducing the backlog of planned care."